Fence



(110 Model.)

W. R. WHITE.

FENCE- Patented Feb. 16, 1897.

u mum awvawto t .UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

4 is a similar view showing a slight modifica- WILLIAM RICHARD \VI-IITE,OF BLOOMINGTON, ILLINOIS.

FENCE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 577,093, dated February16, 1897..

' Application filed November 2, 1896. Serial No. 610,888. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that 1, WILLIAM RIOHABD- VHITE, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Bloomington, in the county of McLean and State ofIllinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Fences,of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in fences;and it consists, substantially, in such features of construction,arrangement, and combinations of parts, as will hereinafter be moreparticularly described.

The invention has special reference to metallic fences, or fencesconstructed of wires and metallic pickets; and it has for its object thestaying or strengthening of the wires against lateral strains, as wellas the facility and security with which the pickets and wires are unitedor fastened together.

A further object is the provision of greater strength combined withlightness of material, and also increased rigidity of the parts, as wellas the ease with which the wires can be drawn up and tightened withoutin any manner affecting or disturbing the connection between the saidwires and the pickets or stays.

The invention also has certain other objects in view, all as will morefully hereinafter appear, when taken in connection with the accompanyingdrawings, in which- Figure 1 is a front elevation of a section of fenceconstructed and arranged in accordance with my invention, suitable meansbeing shown at one end for tightening the wires in place. Fig. 2 is atop or plan view representing the preferred form of picket or fencestay,as well as the preferred means of fastening or uniting the wires andpickets together. Fig. 3 is a rear perspective view of the preferredform of picket and fastening, showing the construction more clearly.Fig.

tion in the means of uniting or fastening the stay and wirestogether.Fig. 5 is a rear perspective view representing another form of picket,and also showinga slight change in the manner of fastening the wiretherein.

in view being to construct the fence of'as light material as possibleand which is at the same time very secure and strong; but in manyinstances heretofore the fences have proven inefficient under certainconditions, and they have been found to become very loose both fromelementary causes as well as from strain imposed thereon, and whichlatter efiect the fence was supposed to be capable of withstanding. Theprincipal reason for the sagging and loosening of the wires of the fencehas been found to be due to the ineffective connections or fasteningsfor uniting the stays or pickets to the wires, since in many instancesthe fastenings are entirely broken or loosened merely by the act oftightening the wires in place by the usual means. i

It is the purpose of this invention to provide means for fastening oruniting the stays and wires together which shall to a large extentovercome the objections noted and which in point of cheapness andsimplicity, as well as strength and durability, has been found topossess great advantage.

My invention is capable of a great many different embodiments, but inpractice I prefer the use of either one of the forms substantially suchas I have herein illustrated. Thus in Figs. 1,2, and 3 I have shown thepreferred form of picket, as well as the preferred means of uniting thesame with the wires of the fence, the said picket being indicated at 1and the wires at 2. ploy more than two wires, one being passed throughthe pickets at a suitable distance from the upper end thereof and theother being passed therethrough in like manner at any preferred ordesired distance from the lower end of the pickets. This preferred formof picket is substantially rectangular in cross-section, the front ofthe picket being indicated at 3 and the wings or right-angled portionsthereof at 44. By thus constructing the picket or stay I am enabled toobtain any width desired, so that a less number of the pickets or stayswill be required in sections of fence of given length, and in additionthereto the broad surface presented to view thereby renders it very easyto be noticed by stock, and in many instances this latter feature alonehas proven of advantage. It is of It is unnecessary to em-' courseunderstood that in cross-section the form of this picket could be variedor modilied in different Ways, but it is desirable that the same shallconform as nearly as practicable with the general features herein shown.The wings or side portions 4 4- of this preferred form of picket or stay1 could of course be of any depth or width desired, but in order tolessen as much as possible the amount of metal required in theconstruction of the picket I prefer to make the same as narrow aspossible commensurate with the thickness of the Wires of the fence,which are passed through the said wings or side portions, substantiallyas shown.

I will first describe the form or construction preferred and will thenexplain several of the changes or modifications thereof which could bemade.

elements and the effects produced by tightening the wires in place aseach section of fence is erected. In many former instances thefastenings have become loosened on account of the wires straighteningout, and in this way the stays or pickets are rendered almost entirelyineffective for the purposes for which they are intended. By mypreferred construction of fastening for the wires they are not likely tostraighten out from any cause and neither are they likely to turn intheir supports in the pickets, and in most respects a fence constructedin accordance with my invention will be found to be very rigid andpossess considerable strength.

As shown in Figs. 1 to 3, the side portions or wings of the picket orstay are provided with openings 7 for the passage of the wires, and itwill be observed that said openings are arranged to be as close to thefront portion of the picket or stay as possible, since in this way afterthe pickets or stays have been properly placed upon the wires andsecured in position the wires will be incapable of turning in the staysor pickets, and in addition to this the full strength and bracing effectof the entire width of the picket or stay is obtained. As a means ofuniting 0r fastening the pickets or stays to the wires I simply indentthe front portion of the said stay or picket, as shown at 10, and at thesame time a kink or bend is produced in the wire, such as is indicatedat 12, and in this way a fastening is had which renders it impossiblefor the Wire to become straightened out at this point without at thesame time forcing outward the indented portion of the picket or stay,and inasmuch as the strength of the material of the stay is capable ofresisting almost any torsional or tensile strain to which the wire islikely to be subjected it will at once appear that there is nolikelihood of the connection or fastening being broken. Since theindented portion of the stay forms a raised surface at 15 011 the innerside of the stay or picket, which conforms exactly to and fits the kinkor bend in the wire, or, to state it in a different manner, by reason ofthe kink in the wire resting closely against a raised portion of theinner surface of the stay, it will be seen that the wire cannot roll orturn in its bearings, and the security of the fastening is assured.

It will of course be understood that the fastening of the stays andwires together is effected before the wires are drawn taut, and nospecial machinery is required to so form the stays and Wires, since asimple die is all thatis required to give to the parts the desiredshape, as well as to receive the force of the blow necessary to effectthe construction explained.

In some instances instead of indenting the picket from the outer facethereof I may indent both the picket and wire from the opposite sides,and thus produce the exact reverse of the construction alreadyexplained, as shown, for instance, in Fig. 4. This construction might bedesirable under some conditions, and it may perhaps prove entirely,effective for its purpose, but in view of the fact that the kinked orsunken portion of the wire is not engaged except on the outer side ofthe bend thereof there is a possibility that the wire might straightenout under great strain or stress. The wire would, however, be incapableof turning to any material extent, and in this respect the constructionis desir able, and it is of course understood that my inventioncomprehends the same.

In Figs. 5 and 6 I have represented a still,

further modification, both in the form of the picket as well to a slightextent in the means of uniting the picket and wires together. Thus inthis case the picket is semioval in crosssection, which presents arounded front surface, as well as the wings or side portions, (indicatedat 20,) and While in some instances I might also make the said picketpractically of a V shape in cross-section I'prefer to give to the samethe general semioval construction, as will be explained.

It will be noticed on reference to the figures referred to that theopenings 25 for the passage of the wires are also made as close to thefront of the picket or stay as practicable, and instead of indenting thepicket I simply form a kink or bend in the wire, which preferablyextends either upwardly or downwardl y, and this kink or bend rests orabuts closely against the inner concaved side v the wire to straightenout to any material GX- tent, either from elementary causes or from anyphysical strain imposed thereon. As before stated, the kinks in thewires of this form or embodiment of my invention maybe either disposedto rest against the picket in a downward position, as shown at the lowerpart of Fig. 5, or else they may be made to extend upwardly, as shown atthe upper part of the said figure. In some instances I have found itdesirable with alternate stays or pickets to form the kinks in each wirein both ways, since it is apparent that in such a case any straintending to push the wire outward or to turn it over at a particularpicket or stay in the fence would be resisted by the stays andfastenings on each side thereof, due to the kinks in the wires restingagainst the inner side of the pickets or stays in a reverse or oppositeposition.

IVith a fence constructed in either of the ways such as I have shown anddescribed the labor is reduced to a large degree, the fence itself isvery strong, and the fastening for the stays and wires extremely secureand reliable. The stays are easily made and cost very little as comparedwith many forms of stays in use, and the fence in entirety is a markedadvantage in the respects already mentioned.

One of the principal advantages is that with a stay or picket having aflat face or front portion I am enabled to secure the desired fasteningor interlocking connection between the wires and stays by simplydepressing the body of the stay at the points adjacent to the kinks inthe wires. This construction does not require that the stay becorrugated its entire length, as is essential with some previous formshitherto employed, and, moreover, the arrangement of my invention issuch that the stay or picket is supported in position by the fence-wiresalone and without additional means for effecting a fastening between thetwo.

While I may resort to any means for drawing the wires taut and securingthem in place, I have shown as a simple means a perforated plateattached to the end of each wire, which plate is inserted through a slotformed in the supporting-post A, and after the wires have been drawn upsufficiently tight a peg or key is inserted within the perforationnearest the outer side of the fence-post, and in this way the Wires aresecurely held or supported in position; or, in other instances, I mightemploy a key substantially such as is shown at 0, Fig. 7, and in whichcase the end of the wire would be inserted in the slit d, and then byturning the key so as to twist or wrap the wire around the stem e of thekey the said Wire will be held in place in like manner.

Other means for tightening the wirescould be employed, and while I haveshown different means for this purpose it will be understood that I layno claim thereto.

Without limiting myself to the precise construction and arrangement ofparts shown, I claim as my invention 1. In a fence, the combination oflongitudinal wires having kinks or bends therein, and a picket or staysunken or depressed at points adjacent to the kinks to form aninterlocking engagement with the wires, substantially as described.

2. In a fence, the combination of longitudinal wires having kinks orbends therein, and a picket or stay held or supported in position bysaid wires alone, and being sunken to interlock or engage with saidkinks, substantially as described.

3. In a fence, the combination of longitudinal wires having kinks orbends therein, and a picket or stay having front and side portions andheld or supported in position by said Wires alone, the said frontportion being sunken to be engaged by said kinks or bends, and the sideportions being provided with openings through which the wires pass, substantially as described.

4. In a fence, the combination of longitudinal Wires, and a staytherefor supported by said Wires alone, the wires and the stay beingunited by sunken or depressed portions in each extending inwardly fromthe outer face of said stay, substantially as described.

5. In a fence, the combination of longitudinal wires and a picket orstay therefor supported in position by said wires alone, the two beingunited by corresponding sunken or depressed portions in each,substantially as described.

6. In a fence, the combination of longitudinal wires having kinks orbends therein, and a stay supported by said wires alone and constructedof rectangular cross-section to constitute front and side portions, thesaid front portion being sunken or depressed at points adjacent to thekinks and engaging there with, and the said side portions being providedwith holes for the passage of the wires arranged close to the innersurface of said front portion, substantially as shown and for thepurpose described.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name-to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

WVILLIAM RICHARD .WHITE.

Witnesses:

VINCENT HACKETT, F. L. FREEMAN.

